WHQR announces plan to operate second radio station

Wednesday

May 22, 2013 at 11:47 PM

Wilmington public radio station WHQR might be ready to clone itself.

By Ben SteelmanBen.Steelman@StarNewsOnline.com

Wilmington public radio station WHQR might be ready to clone itself.At a fundraising luncheon Tuesday at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside, station manager Cleve Callison announced that WHQR is pursuing plans to buy and operate a second FM radio station. This second station, Callison said, would carry a 24-hour classical music format, allowing the parent signal, 91.3 FM, to offer more news and talk programs from such networks as National Public Radio or Public Radio International.Any such plans are dependent on approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which can take time, Callison said. If all goes well, however, he hopes listeners can hear the new all-classical station by the end of 2013.In addition to favorites such as NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” the news/talk channel would carry “many programs that listeners have requested for years but for which there has been no room,” Callison said.Wilmington’s radio market already has a 24-hour all-classical station, the commercial Bach Radio (WFSN), broadcasting on 95.9 FM and 1180 AM. Operated by Davis Media (which also owns The Penguin, The Big Talker and The Bone), Bach Radio carries syndicated musical programming from Massachusetts-based World Classical Network, along with local commercials and news feeds.Callison said the new station would be non-commercial and nonprofit like WHQR, with at least some local programming. Eventually, he said, the station might broadcast live classical recitals, much as WHQR now rebroadcasts live jazz, folk and blues in its “Soup to Nuts” concert series.WHQR already carries all-classical programming on its separate hybrid-digital channel, 91.3 FM-HD2. Not many listeners, however, have radios equipped to pick up HD signals.Callison said the move toward a second public radio signal is part of a four-part vision statement adopted last year by the board of WHQR’s parent corporation, Friends of Public Radio, Inc.The three other elements are “digital now,” an effort to make WHQR more accessible on smart phones, computers and tablets; “community first,” which involves a push for more local programming and local news coverage; and “stability and service,” which means ensuring WHQR is on a sound financial footing.Five years ago, WHQR was $400,000 in debt and was forced to make painful staff and programming cuts. Callison, who joined the station in September 2010, said he thinks the station had expanded too fast without ensuring a financial base in advance. WHQR, he added, will try to avoid that mistake again.“We won’t be getting ahead of ourselves,” Callison said in a phone interview, “but we have big dreams.”